extortion

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UK/ɪkˈstɔːʃən/UK/ɛk-/US/ɪkˈstɔɹʃən/

noun

The practice of extorting money or other property by the use of force or threats.

OriginMiddle English extorcion ← Late Latin extortiō ← Latin extorqueō →
Less commonScrabble 16
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Meanings

nounextortion (plural extortions)

plural extortions

  1. The practice of extorting money or other property by the use of force or threats.

    Heck, what's a little extortion among friends?

    1986 February 17, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic)

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
offer one can't refuse

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  3. Proto-Italic*eks
  4. Latinex
  5. Latinex-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*terkʷ-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*torkʷ-éye-ti
  8. Proto-Italic*torkʷejō
  9. Proto-Italic*torkʷeō
  10. Latintorqueō
  11. Latinextorqueō
  12. Late Latinextortiō
  13. Middle Englishextorcion
  14. Englishextortion

From Middle English extorcion, from Anglo-Norman extorcion, extorcioun, extorsioun, from Late Latin extortiō, from extorqueō. By surface analysis, extort + -ion.

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Late Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اِبْتِزَاز
  • اِبْتِزَاز (ibtizāz)the practice of extorting money or other property
Bulgarian изну́дване
  • изну́дване (iznúdvane)the practice of extorting money or other property
Catalan extorsió
  • extorsióthe practice of extorting money or other property
Chinese Mandarin 勒索, 敲詐 /敲诈
  • 勒索 (lèsuǒ)the practice of extorting money or other property
  • 敲詐 /敲诈 (qiāozhà)the practice of extorting money or other property
Czech vydírání
  • vydíráníthe practice of extorting money or other property
Danish afpresning
  • afpresningthe practice of extorting money or other property
Dutch afpersing
  • afpersingthe practice of extorting money or other property
Esperanto eldevigo, malhonestaĵo
  • eldevigothe practice of extorting money or other property
  • malhonestaĵothe practice of extorting money or other property
Estonian väljapressimine
  • väljapressiminethe practice of extorting money or other property
Finnish kiristys, kiskonta
  • kiristysthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • kiskontathe practice of extorting money or other property
French extorsion
  • extorsionthe practice of extorting money or other property
German Erpressung, Wucher
  • Erpressungthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • Wucherthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • Extorsionthe practice of extorting money or other property
Greek χρηματολογία, εκβιασμός
  • χρηματολογία (chrimatología)the practice of extorting money or other property
  • εκβιασμός (ekviasmós)the practice of extorting money or other property
Hungarian zsarolás, kicsikarás
  • zsarolásthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • kicsikarásthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • extorzióthe practice of extorting money or other property
Indonesian pemerasan
  • pemerasanthe practice of extorting money or other property
Italian estorsione
  • estorsionethe practice of extorting money or other property
Japanese 強要, ゆすり
  • 強要 (kyōyō)the practice of extorting money or other property
  • ゆすり (yusuri)the practice of extorting money or other property
  • たかり (takari)the practice of extorting money or other property
Korean 강요
  • 강요 (gang'yo)the practice of extorting money or other property
Latin repetundae
  • repetundaethe practice of extorting money or other property
Malay peras ugut
  • peras ugutthe practice of extorting money or other property
Norwegian Bokmål utpressing
  • utpressingthe practice of extorting money or other property
Polish wymuszenie, zdzierstwo
  • wymuszeniethe practice of extorting money or other property
  • zdzierstwothe practice of extorting money or other property
Portuguese extorsão
  • extorsãothe practice of extorting money or other property
Romanian extorcare
  • extorcarethe practice of extorting money or other property
Russian вымога́тельство
  • вымога́тельство (vymogátelʹstvo)the practice of extorting money or other property
Slovak vydieranie
  • vydieraniethe practice of extorting money or other property
Spanish extorsión
  • extorsiónthe practice of extorting money or other property
Swedish utpressning
  • utpressningthe practice of extorting money or other property
Tagalog pangingikil, kikil
  • pangingikilthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • kikilthe practice of extorting money or other property
Turkish şantaj, haraç
  • şantajthe practice of extorting money or other property
  • haraçthe practice of extorting money or other property
Ukrainian зди́рство, вимага́ння
  • зди́рство (zdýrstvo)the practice of extorting money or other property
  • вимага́ння (vymahánnja)the practice of extorting money or other property

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with extortion

portionproportionabortiondistortionapportionpurportion
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

extortion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extortion

MLA

“extortion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extortion. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “extortion,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extortion.

Source: extortion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.